The "new bride" becomes the "new mom"

Finally, finally, a silent moment at home and a time for myself...! Why ? coz there is a new born baby boy (we name him Michael) at home since 9 Feb 2011 (Chinese New Year Day 7). With this new little member at home, ... my life (so is my household) is never the same!

While I truly don't wanna miss a moment to look after my baby boy, I yearn for some personal time to jot down a few lines from time to time about this special stage of life as the "new mom". A good summary is taken from my email written to my dear sisters who gave me tremendous support via phone calls, sms, emails and visits at home. I am most blessed with these angels.

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Dear sisters,

Hello! The past 3 weeks were such a rollercoaster ride... ! I got new challenges every week. To sum up:

week 1 - difficulty in BF as BB cannot take milk from my breast, and I don't have that much milk, so I need to pump while feeding him formula. James fell sick (serious coughing) on the day I gave birth, so he couldn't be near me or BB at home and slept at his mom's place at night after running around places shopping for missing needed items for BB or me. I was quite down and stressed but good that the 24 hour pui yuet is very experienced and helpful, so at least i got good sleep at night.

week 2 - new maid finally arrived, need to show her the rope at home with basic cleaning. Feeling a little better though I'm still searching and adjusting my new daily routine.

week 3 - shocking news ! my 24 hour pui yuet's next booking (next mom) just gave birth this Monday, which was 2 weeks earlier than due date...! So she's been asked to go over asap. I'm so unfortunate that my baby was late and her next one is early. But pui yeut has been kind enough to stay til this Sat. Yet, I'm thankful that I was able to quickly hire a day time pui yeut (come for 7 hours during the day) for next 2 weeks til after BB's "full moon". whew....! This gives me some sort of comfort during the day and buy more time to learn BB care, as neither me nor the new Indonesian maid is capable of taking care of the daily routine of bb and my 3 meals diet yet.

I know there will be ups and downs, however, i didn't expect these would be so intense. I really wish I could move around more easily and get hold of BB care myself sooner but my wounds seems to still hurts from the inside infrequently. I cannot bend down or carry BB for too long or if he struggle with his legs on my stomach, or take bath for him....and my pumping milk time seems often clash with BB's feeding hours, so I don't get to feed him very often...*sign*...Then the new Indonesian maid is not too confident in infant care and is taking a steep learning curve this week...! I don't know how things will be when pui yuet is gone... but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and look at the bright side.

Hope everyone is doing well with your loved ones at home.

the new mom,

Wynne

3 March 2011

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February passed by so quickly...by today, little Michael has turned 1 month old!

Rejoice and thanks be to God for watching over him!! Please enjoy some photos of the past few weeks:

https://picasaweb.google.com/james.wynne2009/1stMonthHighlightsOfBabyMichael?authkey=Gv1sRgCOeEgrjPuKXqggE&feat=directlink

May God grant me wisdom and strength to be a good and godly parent to this child.

Week 38 !

A wonderful day at the Peak ( a new discovery of a new little park ) in my final leg of this pregnancy - week 38 !

Special thanks to my dear good sister's husband, Lai Chai, who took us there for these memorable photos ~ more to come soon ! = )

As I write, am still waiting for the "magic moment" to happen ...quietly with James at home over this CNY ...

Happy New Year of Rabbit to all !!

The "bunny mommy" = )

Christmas greetings 2010 - year full of grace

Dear friends,

Please see our holiday greetings at this photo link below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=349942&id=555909477&l=f6d333feb0

2010 has been a wonderful and blessed year to me and James. Our hearts are filled with thanks as we review the photos taken in the past 12 months ~ so much changes ~ so much blessings from our Father above!!

May the joy of celebration of the birth of Christ brings you a happy holiday with your loved ones and a refreshing new year to come!

Celebrating the birth of our King!

2010 holiday in Okinawa, Japan

It's been a long while since I last wrote. I have been taking rest at home and adjusting my life with a new page ~ James and I are expecting our first child (a boy) in February next year (expected due date is very near Chinese New Year)!

Thanks to God for such a lovely bright and sunny holiday in Okinawa, Japan in my 20 weeks ~ that is exactly half way of my pregnancy! We not only see the beautiful clear blue sky there with alot of fishes, pretty scenery, we also had our Mid Autumn Festival there. Check out our photos by clicking the link at the title and this link below ~ enjoy !

http://picasaweb.google.com.hk/james.wynne2009/HolidayInOkinawaPartIITheEatsAndMarriottResort?authkey=Gv1sRgCK_S4-7r1PTqqwE&feat=directlink

Homemade Turnip Cake for Chinese New Year

Last Chinese new year, my colleague and I tried a homemade recipe of the traditional CNY food - Trunip Cake. Somehow I lost my original handwritten recipe, but so glad that my colleague has put it up on her website. So now I have have it in the cyberspace !

It is indeed tasty and rich in flavor, unlike those "read-made cake" you buy at restaurants... Think I'll try it again this year ....

~~~**~~~**~~~ Turnip Cake ~~~**~~~**~~~

ingredients :~ 4 catty turnip~ 1 catty rice flour~ salt~ 10 chinese mushrooms~ dried shrimps~ chinese bacon or sausage~ dried scallops (optional)~ fried shallots (optional)

steps :

1. grate turnip (suggest not too fine)

2. put grated turnip (leaving enough turnip juice to just cover) into boiler and cook until soft

3. heat up a little oil in a pan and fry diced mushrooms, dried shrimps, chinese bacon/sausage and dried scallops

4. transfer (3) into (2) and continue to cook some more. add enough salt to taste

5. remove (4) from heat, slowly add in rice flour and mix in one direction until mixture is quite heavy and a bit difficult to stir (see picture above)

6. transfer into steaming tray and steam with medium/high heat for 1 hour

7. (optional) sprinkle fried shallots on top just before you switch off the heat

notes :
~ the 4 : 1 ratio of turnip : rice flour is for reference only when you buy the ingredients. slowly add in the rice flour into the turnip mixture to achieve the ideal consistency
~ the ingredients above should make 3 round trays of about 7 inches diameter each
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happy birthday celebration at W

November is always a special month to me coz it's my birthday month.

This year is even more special coz it's my first birthday celebrating with my beloved husband...

at the W Hotel...

More pictures at this link :

http://picasaweb.google.com.hk/wynnelau/0911BdayWithJames?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbOmcOxoY-QqAE&feat=directlink

Another day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it

Shortly after 4 months of our wedding, here comes another eventful day for me and James ~ 20 September 2009 ~ Ordaination of James as Deacon at KCBC.

With no experience in the past attending such type of ordaination ceremony as it's very rare to have Deacon- ordained- for- life (終生制執事) in churches in Hong Kong, I waited for this day with no expectation but prepared the best for it.

It was overwhelming : solemn, dignified, majestic and reflective. More so than my own wedding!

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15b)

至於我和我家，我們必定事奉耶和華。

For more pictures :

http://picasaweb.google.com/wynnelau/090920JamesOrdainationAsDeaconAtKowloonCityBaptistChurch?authkey=Gv1sRgCOGfiOi1-pO4pAE&feat=directlink

Fellowship Leaders' Retreat 2009

感謝神, 賜下風和日麗的一天...

甜蜜的靈修...

輕鬆的遊戲...

坦誠的分享...

還有, 彼此的欣賞和鼓勵...

真情的眼淚... 同心的禱告...

相信距離「理想中的團契」也不太遠了 !

More photos: http://picasaweb.google.com.hk/wynnelau/090905FellowshipLeadersRetreat?authkey=Gv1sRgCP_FnrmA7JjJJA&feat=directlink

Two videos :

As a new KCBC member

Beginning my journey with KCBC (Kowloon City Baptist Church) ...

"When will you come to our church ?" "When shall we see your wife?" are questions often post to me or James after our wedding. While both of us have been (and we still are) enjoying our individual church life at our own churches, it's time to see a common path to this journey together.

For me, it's never easy to say goodbye, make a jump or find myself in such a big / mega church. All my life, I am used to small-medium sized church, which I know most of the people I see on Sundays. Although I grew up with singing traditional hymns, in recent years, I'm also getting use to "praise and worship" style of worship at church. My hope and goal is to :1) keep the rich and meaningful traditional hymns going (not to be lost at certain generation) and 2) help the congregation to sing with true spirit and uplifting experience before our almighty God.

In the coming months, I foresee my weekends filled with more activities by the 2 churches. I pray for more energy to accomplish the tasks / goals / people to meet, and I wait on the Lord to show me the right path and timing for all that I do for Him.

At the KCBC monthly meeting last night, with no objection from the floor, my application to become a KCBC member was formally approved. Then, my hubby brought to me these lovely and beautiful roses ! What a nice surprise !! Thanks so much !

Some members of my hubby's fellowship at the prayers meeting.

For more photos, please check out my Facebook or click here :

http://picasaweb.google.com/wynnelau/090826AsNewKCBCMember?authkey=Gv1sRgCOXU15aemIDu6gE&feat=directlink

Shine On Us

August is not a usual month for weddings but I'll be having 3 weddings to attend. So I'll be quite busy getting nice dresses and keeping my body and skin in good shape for these 3 beautiful occasions. What a good excuse to get myself look pretty !

The first one is the wedding of my hubby's niece, the second one is on the same day - it's a long-waited wedding of my 2 good friends since my days in St John's College, and the third one is the wedding of my wedding manager.

My wedding manager has kindly (and boldly) invited me to sing at her very special and unique wedding - unity candle ceremony. The hymn was hand picked by my hubby - SHINE ON US. Very simple but uplifting lyrics, so is the melody. Here is the link by Avalon (my favorite singing group which sings WE ARE THE REASON) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjhOHs5CdkY

SHINE ON US

Lord Let your light, Light of your face Shine on Us
Lord Let your light, Light of your face Shine on Us
That we, may be saved That we, may have life To find our way In the darkest night Let your light, Shine on us

Lord Let your grace, Grace from your hand Fall on us
Lord Let your grace, Grace from your hand Fall on us
That we, may be saved That we, may have life To find our way In the darkest night Let your grace, Fall on us Lord Let your love, Love with no end Come over us

Lord Let your love, Love with no end Come over us
That we, may be saved That we, may have life To find our way In the darkest night Let your love, Come over us
Let your light, Shine on us

Honeymoon Photos in Greece Part II and III

Here are more photos in Greece - Athens - Santorini - Crete -Athens (again), then to Holland in next round...http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123855&id=555909477&l=af3ea5992f



And here are the places we stayed in Greece. Highly recommend these hotels, resorts, B&B in Greece, where we received excellent service in all aspect - airport pick-ups, food, room, facilities, tour information. People are most friendly and the environment / facilities are just superb !

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123863&id=555909477&l=72f854a42a

Honeymoon in Greece - Part I

The final 2 weeks before the wedding was the most hectic period - all sorts of counting down, final decisions to be made, special care and attention to needs of parents and family members etc ..., so I didn't have much time to diligently planned the 15 days honeymoon. Time was running out as we would be taking off to Greece only 2 days after the wedding !

So my best friends kindly offered to help me with the final booking of ALL the accommodation in the 3 cities in Greece which we were visiting - Athens, Santorini and Crete. Special big thanks for their efficiency and great effort to shortlist, book and liaise with the hotels and arranged the best for me and my hubby. What a wonderful wedding gift for us !

On our wedding day, I was given a package of the honeymoon material marked "To be opened on your honeymoon". Woh...the joy of this half -half expected planning of our honeymoon was unspeakably memorable to us!

Finally, I sorted out some photos of our honeymoon in Greece last night. Photos can be viewed at this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/wynnelau/HoneymoonInGreecePartI?authkey=Gv1sRgCL3OzMeTo--_MA&feat=directlink

More to come soon ... : )

The world is put on hold ...

Many have sent us positive feedback and nice comments about how much they have enjoyed our wedding. (me too!) One of which is the anthem - AS THE BRIDEGROOM - delivered by the 80 members church choir from James' home church, Kowloon City Baptist Church. (http://www.baptist.org.hk/new/b5_index.php)

Each time I listen to it, the serenity and love seem to put the world on hold. Just like this nice picture taken by a friend of mine from the audience on our wedding day.

Let me share the meaningful lyrics with you, again.

AS THE BRIDEGROOM by John Rutter

As the bridegroom to his chosen, as the king unto his realm,
As the keeper to the castle, as the pilot to the helm.
As the captain to his soldiers, as the shepherd to his lambs,
So, Lord, art thou to me.

As the fountain in the garden, as the candle in the dark,
As the treasure in the coffer, as the manna in the ark,
As the firelight in the winter,
As the sunlight in the spring,
So, Lord. art thou to me.

As the music at the banquet, as the stamp unto the seal,
As refreshment to the fainting, as the winecup at the meal,
As the singing on the feast day, as the amen to the prayer,
So, Lord, art thou to me.

As the ruby in the setting, as the honey in the comb,
As the light within the lantern, as the father in the home,
As the eagle in the mountains, as the sparrow in the nest,
So, Lord, art thou to me.

As the sunshine in the heavens, as the image in the glass,
As the fruit unto the fig tree, as the dew unto the grass,
As the rainbow on the hilltop, as the river in the plain,
So, Lord, art thou to me.

Are you on Facebook ?

As facebook is getting more and more popular in Hong Kong and worldwide, I find it easier to keep track of how my friends are doing. Some update of myself...

I've become "Mrs. Yiu" ("Yiu-tai") in early May and I'm anxiously awaiting the photos taken by our official photography team which may take a while. Meanwhile, feel free to check out my friends' snapshot of the day at my FB profile on the link below : )

Wynne Lau's Profile Create Your Badge

Happy Chinese New Year

Enjoying a nice 5-days holiday break from work, enjoying the luxury of time for sleep, catching up with friends, laughters with babies and our loved ones at home. From buying flowers to making "Lo Pak Go" (the CNY cake), CNY holidays in HK can be wonderful indeed !

Wishing you goodness and happiness, each new day ! = )

More photos at :

http://picasaweb.google.com.hk/wynnelau/MyHappyChineseNewYearOfOx?authkey=pgmId7cRBws&feat=directlink

Save the date - 1 May 2009

2008 is surely an eventful year for all.

To me, it's even more memorable as I got engaged with James early this year !

We are now excitingly planning our wedding, which will be held in Hong Kong on 1 May 2009. We sincerely hope that you will be joining us to share our joy and celebrate our wedding day.

Here are a few snapshots and funful pre-wedding pictures to share :

For more pictures, updates and thanksgiving items for me in 2008, please click on this album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kzukXm2nrqxBN00WZ5nSbQ?authkey=f9_Xrg_z0r8&feat=directlink

As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, may the Lord bless you with His serence peace and eternal joy this Christmas and a blessed New Year to come !

Joyful reunion with good old friends

What a joy to have Charmaine and Peter back from Vancouver in Hong Kong for a few short weeks. Here we are, at a good old friend's home for reunion with the ex-Cedar Tree and ex-Passion Fruit cell groups at Friday Career Fellowship.

These are the good old friends growing (old) with me in this Fellowship since I returned to HK from Beijing and helped me to find the feeling of "root" at a church and the fellowship of love in God's family. Friendship over the past 4 years are not only special but also precious.

Friday Career Fellowship is indeed a loving home to me.

Fun fun cooking class

How great it is to pick up cooking class again ! It's been highly recommended to me by a number of friends...and I am now highly recommending it to you!! Please click below for pictures taken at this funful class I had earlier this week : )

Sogo Club Cooking Class July 08

p.s. In the often crowded and busy CWB, there is a quiet area on 11/F to 16/F of the Sogo building for various interests or hobbies alike class. It's where I had the cooking class.

www.sogoclub.com.hk

good stuff to share for summer

A friend shared something really nice with me today to brighten up the rainy summer days....A calendar made by herself !!

Good show coming up

 

I am a fan of musicals - all sorts ! So this poster caught my eyes in the Grand Cinema at The Elements when I went to watch "Kung Fu Panda" last weekend. = )

MAMA MIA is one of my favorite (though I got plenty favorites). It's entertaining, halirous, familiar songs, upbeat and cheerful, it brings smile to everyone coming out of the theatre, if not already during the show.

Only that it's coming up in ...2 months... September !! Good things need to wait. >_*